"It also helped that Waikato's centre broke his ankle," Gardner said.
The boys - except for Allen-Padayhag, who started playing basketball last year - have been playing for about four years and, says assistant coach Reg Norton, they are determined to do well.
"They hung in there and I could see in their training they really improved their game which improved their confidence," Norton said.
Despite water polo being the most popular sport at John Paul College, basketball participation had increased.
"We play the game because it's so contagious and we encourage students to join in," Aislabie said.
"At our school it's gone from around five playing in year 7 to now around 40," Easthope-Stevens said. To prepare for the nationals the students have been training an hour a week and although they're looking forward to a week off school, basketball comes first.
"Our school would be proud if we won the title and it would be a massive achievement so we want to try," Aislabie said.
This achievement would be significant for Rotorua, which have traditionally been dominated by Waikato in basketball, and Norton cannot recall a time Rotorua held the title.
He believed the team were in a strong pool.
"We got into a good one and the top two teams will go through to the top eight and we take it from there."
Connor said being selected had "put us in a good mental space for nationals" and motivated the boys to bring their skills to the court.
They believed their greatest skill was team work.
"I reckon that might be the one advantage we have over other teams because we know each other so well," Allen-Padayhag said.
